Shotguns do not require careful aim, and are thus the weapon of choice of most police officers when confronted with a life-threatening situation. The weapon is extremely dangerous, however, and cannot be safely stored under a seat or anywhere else in a vehicle in the absence of a mounting means.
Accordingly, inventors have developed various mounting brackets that hold the weapon in a secure position until it is needed. Some of these brackets grip the weapon forwardly of the trigger group, thereby exposing the trigger. An example of such a bracket is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,499 to McCue.
Some brackets also permit movement of the action slide pump release mechanism by which a shell can be chambered and the gun cocked while still in the lock. A bracket that exposes both the trigger group and the release mechanism is a part of the prior art known to the present inventor. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,491 to Townsend et. al. for a gun rack having those features.
Many of these mounting systems include a switch or switches mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle that controls the locking and unlocking of the mounting apparatus. Typically, the officer depresses a button or buttons to unlock the mounting bracket so that the weapon can be quickly retrieved therefrom.
More particularly, the switch or button closes a circuit that includes the coil of a solenoid so that when the switch is thrown, the plunger of the solenoid is retracted into the area surrounded by the coils in the well known manner. The plunger, when extended, extends through a latch opening that prevents opening of the mounting bracket; thus, retraction of the plunger frees the locking mechanism and allows the officer to remove the weapon.
A major problem with the known systems relates to the dashboard-mounted switches. Those switches are normally depressed when the officer is in a very agitated state of mind. As a result, the buttons are often held down too long or pressed repeatedly in a rapid fashion, and such treatment of the switches causes solenoid failure. If the solenoid fails, the officer cannot gain access to the weapon.
Accordingly, there is a need for a shotgun mounting bracket that can be quickly opened by an officer even if the bracket-opening solenoid has failed, i.e., there is a need for a solenoid-overriding means.
Moreover, there is a need for a mounting bracket that can adjust itself as required when the driver's seat of the squad car is adjusted forwardly or rearwardly.
Another need exists for a mounting bracket that engages the weapon at the trigger group so that the trigger cannot be pulled while the weapon is in its mount.
The prior art, taken as a whole, neither teaches or suggests how these and other longstanding needs could be fulfilled.